


The Same Choice Made in Anger, in Love

by stevieraebarnes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Brief Panic, Future Fic, Galaxy Garrison, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevieraebarnes/pseuds/stevieraebarnes
Summary: Keith, Shiro, and Voltron return to Earth.





	The Same Choice Made in Anger, in Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was a quick, short story I wrote and posted on tumblr, then forgot to post here. I wanted to explore a possibility of Shiro coming face to face with Adam, and deciding on a definite resolution without erasing Adam's voice.
> 
> Many thanks to Ravenwolf36 who lamented and fangirled with me over the SDCC Season 7 Episode 1 spoilers, and to whom this fic is dedicated to.

It all looked exactly the same.

The desert, the Garrison, the neatly-pressed military uniforms lined up for reception. The Galaxy Garrison at attention to welcome the paladins, to welcome home their missing cadets, their rogue officer.

Commanders Iverson and Holt stood prominently before the members of Voltron; backs straight and heads held high, before Commander Holt shucked etiquette and abandoned the procession to greet his children in a hug. There was laughter and the atmosphere lightened, the Holts setting an informal tone for the meeting of the earth’s defender with the universe’s defender. Men and women from both sides of the line break form to shake hands, share hugs, and introduce themselves. Four or five officers surround Shiro, peppering him with questions and laying their hands on him. Some ten feet away, Keith too is surrounded by Garrison members, his eyes wide at the sudden boldness of their interest in him, a far cry from the experiences Keith had when he was a cadet.

Shiro politely answers questions, gives smiles, returns hugs, and begins to separate himself from the throng. He knows Keith can handle himself, Keith can handle anything, but after traveling with such a small group for a couple years, Shiro’s not sure of his own threshold.

Shiro takes a step back towards Keith when he hears it.

“Takashi.”

He knows that voice. He has not heard that voice since before he started his Kerberos training. A voice that used to laugh. A voice that used to say  _I love you_.

Shiro turns his head to the side and Adam stands before him.

“You’re really back,” Adam says.

There are so many answers to that statement. So many implications.

“I’m here,” Shiro says instead.

Adam opens his mouth to say more, but Keith’s voice reaches Shiro.

“Look, I don’t know what you want me to say. Getting booted from the Garrison has nothing to do with me being a paladin of Voltron.”

Shiro turns away from Adam and makes his way to Keith. His arms are crossed against his chest, his chin tilted down, and his eyes narrowed. It’s a threatening and defensive pose, one Shiro knows well, but it’s the rapidity with which Keith’s chest rises and falls that brings him to Keith’s side.

Shiro holds out his hand to the unknown person interrogating Keith, taking in the insignia. “Lieutenant. A pleasure to meet you. Mind if I borrow the Red Paladin?”

The man shakes Shiro’s hand and gives a vague nod, awestruck. And then, “I thought he was in the Black Lion?”

Shiro smiles at the man. “We’ll be answering those questions once we’re inside,” he says and leads Keith aside and turns his back to the Garrison. Keith’s posture has relaxed some, but his breathing is harsh and Shiro can see that he’s panicking. He raises his hands to hold either side of Keith’s face, trying to blot out the others with himself.

“Keith. It’s just you and me.”

“There’s so many people.”

“I know. I’m not used to it either. But we’ll navigate them just like we navigated past stars and planets.” Shiro lowers one hand, fingertips smoothing down Keith’s throat until his hand comes to rest over his breast bone, his heart. Shiro proves a solid weight: warm and comforting.

Keith closes his eyes and breathes deeply, feeling Shiro’s hand rise and fall with his chest.

“Thanks, Shiro,” Keith says after a few breaths.

“You ready to go meet up with the others again?”

“Yeah. I’ll try to stick closer to the other paladins.” Keith gives a small laugh, then looks past Shiro. Shiro notices the way his eyes narrow, knows Keith has spotted him.

“Is that Adam?” Keith asks.

The paladins and officers have started filing into the Garrison, but when Shiro looks over his shoulder, he finds Adam waiting.

“I’ll meet you in there,” Keith says, answering his own question.

Shiro lowers his hands from Keith, giving Keith’s cheek with the scar a swipe with his thumb first. Keith grants Shiro an understanding smile, then hurries to catch up to Hunk, Pidge, and Lance.

Shiro watches his teammates, his family, enter the Garrison headquarters as Adam makes his way to Shiro’s side.

“Still catering to his every whim, I see,” Adam says.

“That’s what loving support looks like,” Shiro responds.

“Don’t you dare, Takashi. I wanted to take care of you. I wanted to love you. But you left. You left and threw  _us_  away.” Adam gestures to the space between him and Shiro.

“And then you died,” Adam continues. “I was so angry at you. That you didn’t listen. You went to space and died. You may be a hero now, but for a long time, I hated you. Because I was right, you were wrong, and you couldn’t see that.”

Shiro closes his eyes at the accusations, processing Adam’s emotions, his point of view. But Shiro disagrees.

“No,” Shiro says to the man he used to love. “It would’ve been the wrong choice to stay with you. If I could go back and do it all over, yes, there’s some pain I would save myself from. But I would still choose space. I’d still choose Voltron. I’d choose Keith a thousand times over.

“But I would never choose to stay behind,” Shiro continues, “to lay in a bed to get sicker and sicker every day simply so you could play the doting lover.”

Adam presses his mouth into a hard line, wanting to argue, but not wanting to disrupt the occasion. Shiro takes Adam’s silence as invitation to nod in understanding and walk away. To Voltron. To Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to say hi on [tumblr](https://stevieraebarnes.tumblr.com)


End file.
